Mrs. Brown's Apprentice

hiatus.

2006-05-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

Things have been absolutely insane lately.
I finalized my plans to intern this summer with a Congresswoman in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill. So, instead of knitting like crazy (as I usually am) I have been shopping and planning like crazy. If all goes to plan, I will recieve 12 credits towards my degree. Big smile....
I finished a pair of ankle socks this week. I do not have a picture yet. I also worked on my "extra credit" for Project Spectrum. It's turning out amazing - I get compliments everywhere I go...
I haven't decided what yarn will be traveling with me down to DC this summer. I am figuring my Rambling Rose sweater is a sure thing as well as my "extra credit" for Project Spectrum (it's going to be a surprise!). I researched where all the yarn stores are in the DC/VA area and am sure that I will be making routine stops at each shop this summer so I shouldn't bring too much yarn with me. But I figured some of my Koigu and other sock yarn will suffice.
I already have plans to knit on the national mall on lazy weekends. Melissa (my best childhood friend) will be interning there in the summer as well (in another office) and will be living across the street! I will have plenty of quality time with her - I am so excited.
I made a list of books to read this summer as well (although the list is short since I will be working 50-55 hours/week and writing a 25 page paper).
I leave in 6 days. I cannot wait.

Can you imagine seeing this every morning as you walk to work?

I forsee this summer as being extremely productive.

I'm addicted.

2006-05-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

I am. I went into Pins and Needles in downtown Princeton this morning to buy my grandmother the new copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting and couldn't walk past the "wall of koigu" without at least looking at it. Of course, I found a colorway that I have never seen before in my life, and grabbed a skein of it. ::sigh::

I've got to stop this impulsive buying of koigu. Do I know what I am going to make with this ONE skein of koigu? Yeah...riight. I don't. But I couldn't let this color sit on the shelf and not come home with me. Thank God there was only one skein left of this color or else I would have bought another to make a long pair of socks. Now, I'm limited to a short pair - if I can make it, that is.

Anywho, two nights ago at my knitting group, Andrea finally taught me how to spin:

Not bad. But not good either. I picked it up pretty quickly and kept getting better as the night progressed. I really enjoy it, but it's so freakin' tedious!

Since Mrs. Brown is away in Florida this weekend, maybe I'll work on my skills some more and spin her some of that natural brown wool I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for Mother's Day.

Oh, and guess who somehow found a way out of her cage while I was surfing knitting blogs?

Princess - the lovebird.

Maryland Sheep and Wool

2006-05-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

God, am I satisfied.
I have the same feeling one has after eating a plentiful plate of good pasta, or a homemade chocolate chip cookie - only my craving for wool is satisfied, and not my stomach (although my stomach had its fill of good things too!). I went a little crazy (monetarily) yesterday at the infamous Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but I think once I begin my new projects I won't feel as bad. All I wanted was a drop spindle so I could learn to spin, and I ended up getting quite a bit of rovong as well. I don't spin (yet), and don't know if I'll even enjoy it, yet I bought a grand total of 1 lb. 12 oz. of roving. Mrs. Brown had given me a little bit of roving that she had hand-dyed to try out - so it wasn't necessary to buy the amount of fiber that I did. I really should be saving. Whoops. I am completely satisfied, and that is all that matters. Heh.

I went with my aunt and grandmother, both of whom knit, as well as my mother who has absolutely no interest in knitting whatsoever. We had a fantastic time - the temperature was perfect, the parking spot was perfect, we didn't get lost on our way there (which was surprising), and we didn't get lost on our way back (which was even MORE surprising).

I even almost convinced my mother to buy an alpaca. She was gushing over this one male almost the entire day. He wouldn't have fit in our car, unfortunately.

Here are the contents of my goodie basket:

On the left: 4 oz. 50% baby Camel 50% Tussah silk from Indigo Moon Farm. Even though this roving is not for a beginner spinner, I could not help myself. And although not too apparent in the picture, the luster and sheen of this fiber is absolutely gorgeous. I am planning on making a plain scarf to match my heavy winter wool coat. It's going to look stunning.

In the middle: 1 lb. plain ol' wool from The Fold in Marengo, Illinois. It was so much smoother and creamier in color then many of the other fibers I had seen. I have no idea why, though. It's sooo super clean, but still smells of a dirty sheep. The woman told me it was from her award winning Blue-faced Leicester. I didn't care if the animal had won awards or not - the roving stuck out like a sore thumb against all of the other wool fibers I had seen. It's incredibly plush and luxuious - I wanted to jump in a huge pile of it. I couldn't resist.

On the right: 8 oz. of natural wool from I-forget-the-heck-where. The woman sold it to me for $5. Although not as soft as the Blue-faced Leicester, it's color is beautiful, and I cannot wait to get started on it. I think I'm going to spin this first.

In front: The hand-dyed roving was a gift from Mrs. Brown, and the drop spindle came from Greensleeves Spindles.

special delivery.

2006-05-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

Not only is tomorrow my last final (Macroeconomics - blech!) but it's Cinco De Mayo! You all best believe I'm poppin' open a Corona when I get home.
I got a 'little' surprise in the mail yesterday...

Behold, my 28 skeins of KnitPicks Merino Style. I swatched last night and I am incredibly pleased with this yarn. I was a little skeptical at first (because of the price - duh!), but was pleasently surprised once I had it in my hand. I am quite excited. I think that this is going above and beyond the call of Project Spectrum, but whatever. I am an over-achiever.

happy may!

2006-05-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

Today is May 1st and the opening day for Project Spectrum - well, at least for me. I endered in the middle of April and thought that it would be better to start fresh in May. I absolutely adore the concept behind Project Spectrum. I, too, believe that color should be celebrated. In celebration of the first of May, and since green is the color for May, here are my completed Mountain Colors Bearfoot socks.

This yarn was amazing. I'm buying more.

I got so excited to start Project Spectrum that I went and bought 28 skeins of Knitpicks Merino Style (3,444 yards!) the other day to make a project to be revealed at the end of the summer. Where the yarn is going to go once it gets here, I have no idea. But I was so inspired by the whole idea and all of the gorgeous blooming Pear, Peach, and Dogwood trees in my backyard that I couldn't help myself. I am incredibly excited to start this project. Maybe I'll drop hints over the summer as to what it is. Maybe.

My mother, aunt, grandmother and I are going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this coming weekend. Needless to say, I don't know how I am going to be able to concentrate on my final exams this week. All I keep thinking about when I am trying to study or write a paper is what kind of yarn I'll buy. Sock yarn? Maybe some roving so I can learn to spin.

I am still working on my Rambling Rose sweater. I haven't made too much progress as the Mountain Colors socks took precedence only because I wanted to beat Wanda at my knitting group on Thursdays. She's been working on the same pair of socks for 4 months. And she's still not done the first.

I'm obsessed.

My Kitchener Stitch Stinks.

2006-04-25T16:56:00.000-05:00

So, I finished one of the Mountain Colors socks Saturday night. I decided to stay in since the Thuderstorms were pretty bad. We had some minor flooding and I didn't think my Civic Hybrid would fair well in the weather. So, I used it was an excuse to sit inside, curl up on my couch and get some knitting done. I have never been so excited about a pair of knitted socks before (probably because I've always used crappy yarn), and I wanted them to be perfect. I got to the toe, and remembered that my Kitchener stitch is really bad. It's so awkward for me. So, I am not happy with the toe too much, but otherwise, I love the way they are turning out.

I also have been knitting Rambling Rose from the new Rowan 39. I substituted the 4-ply cotton with Baby Cashmerino since I pretty much loathe knitting in cotton. It's quite sad considering that I love cotton sweaters, but I just can't deal with knitting with it. It drives me insane. It doesn't stretch, it's cold and dense, not to mention it doesn't keep its shape too well. Here is the back so far:So, I opted to go with a yarn that I have knitted with many times before, and knew. I like the way the 4-ply cotton gives the sweater an organic, handmade feel - something that the smooth Cashmerino wouldn't do. So, after many different swatches, I decided to twist my purl stitches.

That's the clearest detail shot I could get out of my camera, but I think it gets the idea across. I am happy with it so far, but I have found some mistakes already in the pattern. For the life of me, I cannot find anyone with the same problem (or that is knitting the same pattern) online. I know that it is a misprint, and not just me. The increases in the back piece are way off.

Egads!

2006-04-21T19:02:00.000-05:00

Whoa. Almost an entire month without a single post. Honestly, I have not really had a whole lot of time to post the past few weeks - school has been crazy and I was asked to give a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill. But, there has been plenty of knitting!
A pair of Mrs. Beeton's for Shelly's birthday (sans beading)! In her favorite colors, of course. She loved them.

I started a pair of socks in Mountain Colors - I love this yarn. My mom would have stolen them already, but I threatened her with my US 4 Addi Turbos. These are mine.

My boyfriend took me to New Hope, PA last weekend. We had a romantic lunch in the middle of town under an umbrella sipping on iced tea through straws. We walked off our lunch afterwards in town soaking up the sunshine. I didn't think he could top the afternoon until he got me in his big F-150 and took me across town to The Gazebo - a hole in the wall fiber shop in New Hope, PA. His mother had been there the weekend before and told him that I would love it because they had a massive shelf of Koigu. Mrs. Brown knows me well. I told Garrett that I want my engagement ring to be made of Koigu. He told me he'd keep that in mind.

I bought a couple skeins of each. I'm set for a few short weeks. I have a hard time finding Koigu in my area - but hopefully this will hold me over until the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

As a result of the fabulous afternoon in New Hope staring deep into eachother's eyes over panini sandwiches under the sun, and trips to The Gazebo and The Wooly Lamb he got one of these:

I am a big, fat PRINCESS.

2006-03-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, was I a princess this weekend. Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown and I took off for the Waldorf last Friday, leaving Garrett behind to finish up some work (he's training to be a police officer!). Our Sunday Best in tow, we sped up the NJ Turnpike to start our weekend of luxury ASAP. Mrs. Brown and I both had casted on new projects in the car. I faired well considering that I casted on the 'Rambling Rose' sweater from the new Rowan 39. The pattern calls for US1 for the bottom ribbing - I'm suprised I didn't stab myself AND/OR make myself go blind thanks to the atrocious condition of the lovely NJ Turnpike.
Once you spend a night in the Waldorf Towers Luxury Suites, you can do WHATEVER you please. I could have told my valet to do a handstand and he would have done it with a smile. The black tie dinner was phenomenal. There was baked salmon on a bed of lentils and asparagus, and then filet mignon and potatoes as the main entree. Dessert? Strawberry Shortcake. Writer/Lawyer Scott Turow spoke during our meal - he was phenominal as well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself aside from my having one too many glasses of red wine. It was a blast. Garrett and I ended our night sprawled out on the king-size bed in the white signature plush terry robes atop monstrous down comforters watching COPS as he stuffed himself with food from a food service cart. What a life.
Late the next day, we made our way up to Mystic, Connecticut to finalize the sale of Joy's (Garrett's grandmother) summer house in Groton. Mrs. Brown and I made our way over to Mystic River Yarns before closing! I couldn't resist some lace-weight baby alpaca. I rationalized my purchase by promising to knit my mother a lace stole. We'll see.

smells like productivity.

2006-03-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

I love the feeling of productivity. Feels damn good.
The past few days have been quite crazy school-wise as I am trying to get all of my work done BEFORE my trip to the Waldorf this weekend so I can relax and enjoy myself (and my knitting...hrm).
I have been working my arse off this semester and it is showing (thank god for calculus being over and done with!). Looks as if I'm going to end up with a 4.0 GPA. Phew. Georgetown Law school, here I freaking come.
I started (and finished) a pair of Koigu baby socks for my cousin's baby the other night. She isn't due for a couple of months, but I was quite excited and couldn't help myself.
I also started a pair of Brenda Dayne's Mrs. Beetons should it get cold this weekend (its supposed to). I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in place of the Rowan Cashsoft, and Cascade Bollicine varigated mohair in place of the Kidsilk Spray - all from my massive stash.

Princess for a Weekend.

2006-03-16T19:18:00.000-05:00

Garrett called me last night - right on time, as always.
Him: "Hey, bunny! How was your day?"
Me: "It was okay, I guess. I'm ready to go back to school next week - spring break isn't so great this year. I miss you, sweetheart."
Him: "I miss you too. But my parents are going to the Judges Dinner next week at the Waldorf-Astoria and we would like to invite you to stay with us all next weekend. We got two luxury suites."
Me: "Whoa." ...:::silence:::...
Him: "Is that a yes? You can take a big bubble bath and knit all day looking over Park Avenue."
Me: "You're taking me to TIFFANYS!"
Him: "I hope you're kidding."
So, I'm going to be a princess for a weekend. Well, I've always been one, but this just substantiates it. God, I am such a brat. I'm making Garrett take me into Tiffany's - just to look.
I know what I'll do - try to set up a wedding registry. That'll scare him. I gotta get him back for having the staff at 'Joe's Crabs' in Princeton for singing 'happy birthday' to me even though it wasn't my birthday. Perfect revenge.
So, tomorrow I'm going shopping with one of my best friends from high-school to pick out outfits that are Waldorf Towers-worthy. I love being a girl.
Oh yeah, that's right - this is a knitting blog. So, onto the knitting. Heh.
I started my first pair of socks (took me long enough)! My fellow knitters at the Knitting Knook always bitched an complained about turning the heels of socks, so I was really nervous to start. I turned the whole darn heel myself without an extra assistance and everyone was amazed. They all wanted to know my secret. So I gave it to them: FOLLOW THE BLOODY PATTERN. They stared at me as if I was speaking in German.

I finally finished my leg warmers while watching Oprah today. I was so relieved. The first leg went quite quickly. The second, on the other hand, was more like pulling off a stubborn band-aid. I lost my drive and stamina come the "second leg of the race" (oh, boy that was a good one!! HAHA!), but I am happy with how they turned out. They are incredibly warm, and incredibly soft. I just never would knit them ever again. No, thank you!

too long!

2006-03-06T19:35:00.000-05:00

God, so it's been two weeks since I've last written.
My life has been turned upside down. School has dumped a ton of work on me at one time, my father was away on a golf trip in Myrtle Beach with his college buddies for a week (which left me with next to no spare time), and my mother and I have been bumping heads lately.
Well, Garrett took me to The Wooly Lamb last weekend (he was soooo thrilled!). They had their grand-reopening sale, so there was no way that he was not going to take me. I finally decided that it was time for me to get over myself and to knit a damn pair of socks. So, I picked up some turquoise Wildfoote sock yarn ($5!!!). Yum. But it keeps splitting. And the #2 DPNs are driving me crazy. But, so far, so good. ::knock on wood::
I also picked up some gorgeous Cascade mohair. I want to eat it, it looks so beautiful. Problem: I don't know what to knit with it! I'm thinking a hat - I only bought two skeins.
I made Shrinky-Dink stitch markers for Mrs. Brown's birthday. Instead of using pictures of knitted pieces, I used the faces of all of her family members, best friend, and her three english bulldogs. She loved them. Garrett called me Martha Stewart. Although he meant it in jest, I took it as a compliment and thanked him. He rolled his eyes. He knows he loves me the way I am.

crazy weekend.

2006-02-21T16:48:00.000-05:00

I didn't get much knitting done this past weekend - there were so many unplanned things happening and two tests to study for, so, the needles went on the back burner.
However, I did go to Barnes and Nobles to scour through their knitting books (my favorite!). I have been on the lookout for the Knitted Babes book (many places hadn't heard of it or were sold out), and found it! I also picked up "The Ultimate Knitting Book" from Vogue Knitting. I loved the different stitches and ideas in it. The book also had some amazingly detailed diagrams and 'how-to's". I haven't had a moment to really sit down and check it out cover-to-cover. Seems quite promising.
Andrea did teach me how to make knitted flowers last Thurday evening at our weekly knitting group. I don't know why I was so intimidated by them - they are amazingly easy. I'll have to teach my grandmother.
I showed them to my friends and they loved them. I think I'm going to make a whole batch of them in different colors to give to my friends for the spring. I have the cutest pair of espadrille sandals that are crying for a pair of yellow flowers to be tied to them.

valentine's day, new dress, etc.

2006-02-16T15:58:00.000-05:00

Garrett came down to my house Tuesday night to take me to Cristina's, a new family-run Italian restaurant in Haddonfield for Valentine's Day. The food was fabulous, but ridiculously expensive. We had such a great time, nonetheless. Being the domestic-goddess wanna be that I am, I baked him a cake in the shape of a heart from scratch. The cake itself is a double chocolate fudge and the icing is made from scratch as well. He was embarrassed at first (my parents saw it!) but had a big double helping after dinner. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but it was quite tasty. :)
Garrett's mother, Mrs. Brown, and I had the toughest time two weeks ago trying to decifer the pattern for this twisted handle felted "basket" as the whole thing is knitted in one piece. I couldn't even figure out how to cast on the damn thing, but obviously she figured it out as she made me one for Valentine's Day. She filled it with chocolate truffles - so I was in heaven. The watch in the basket was my gift from Garrett for Valentine's Day. I had been eyeing up that watch for quite some time, and he remembered I wanted it. How sweet.
So right now I'm working on making some obis from some Mango Moon's Recycled Silk that Mrs. Brown gave me for Boxing Day. I thought that they would look really sharp this spring/summer with different jewel-toned tanks and tailored pants or my white skirt. Nantucket cannot come soon enough...
My leg warmers are coming along as well. I finished the first one, but I am having trouble finishing the second. I guess the "phobia" that goes along with finishing the dreaded second sock applies to these suckers. I gotta learn how to knit two socks at one time...
Oh! I am going to a little cocktail party with Garrett for the Princeton Police Department in a few weeks. Of course, I didn't have anything to wear (isn't that always the case with 20 year old girls?) so I went to J.Crew in Philadelphia to check out some of their formal dresses that they have in the catalog only to find out that the dresses I'm interested in are 'Catalog ONLY'. Whatever. So, I just ordered the dress over the phone in the store since if you do that you get free shipping and free returns...So, today, IT ARRIVED. :) I apologize for the condition of my hair and makeup as I just got out of my Macroeconomics class. You know how that goes...that class is terrible. The dress is a little loose in the waist, but I'm glad I got the size I did or else my chest wouldn't fit. Eek. I'll probably get it altered, but I hate doing it.
I have some time to pick up shoes and accessories. Maybe I'll get to that this weekend... :)
The grandmother that goes to a knitting group with me is in the hospital. She was in the hospital for a basic surgery on Valentine's Day for severe acid reflux and since she has problems breathing from years of smoking, she ran into some problems. The surgeons couldn't get her to breathe on her own after the surgery, so they put her on a ventilator. She wouldn't wake up either. All they knew is that the sugery went well, but they couldn't explain why she wasn't coming to or able to breathe on her own. So, right now she's pumped full of morphine. My mother won't let me see her because she thinks that it will upset me. I know she's right. My grandmother and I are incredibly close and it would kill me to see her in the state that she's in. Our knitting group meets on Thursday nights, so tonight I'll be going without her. I'm really worried.

Boring Week

2006-02-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

This week was tough - I had two tests and a small essay due for class so there was not much time for knitting, unfortunately. I did assess what exactly was deep in my stash and reorganized it, where I found this:

A Blue Sky Cotton one-piece baby sweater I completely forgot about. I bought the yarn from Sheep to Shore in Nantucket this past summer while on vacation. This is my first project that I have knit in cotton, and I will never, ever, knit in cotton ever again! The final knitted fabric feels beautiful, but I do not like how the yarn does not give and is awkward to knit with.

This sweater is being knit in all one piece, and I will go back at the end and pick up stitches for a collar and buttonband. This is such an easy sweater to make, but all the ends scare me quite a bit (I tucked them underneith the sweater so I wouldn't scare you either!). I am not looking forward to weaving them all in come time for finishing. Ugh.

The leg warmers are coming along beautifully, and the 'Barbie' hot-pink color has grown on me substanially. One is almost finished, actually. I'll post pictures later.

Joelle Hoverson's Leg Warmers

2006-02-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

The other day I also picked up some Cascade 220 and Katia Mohair to make the leg warmers from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I love this book - in fact, it is probably my favorite out of my entire library. I find the instructions to be clear and thorough. I'll probably end up knitting every pattern in the damned thing. I thought that I'd start out with the leg warmers as they brought about some major nostalgia. I took ballet lessons for many years while in Kindergarten and grade school, and wore big pink tutus and pink leg warmers to every lesson. Call it cheesy, but not only is pink my all-time favorite color, but I found that knitting them in pink would be a salute to my childhood.
The only thing that I am beginning to almost loathe about this pattern in particular is the recommendation for a size US8 12" circular needle. They first of all, have been a pain in the arse to find. No yarn store that I have been to has had them. Most people look at me funny when I ask if they have them and throw double points in my hand. I could easily knit them on the double pointeds, but I avoid them like the plague! I have knit with them a couple times, and found them awkward to knit with - I know that as I practice with the dpns I will, in time, become confortable with them, but I tend to be an impatient person.
However, I found after a few rows of knitting with the 12" circular that I prefer double pointeds. Grrrr. They are so tiny and even more uncomfortable to use. I do not think I have ever knit so slowly even thought they are Addi Turbos! Oh, well.
I am unsure about the hot/soft pink color combination as it reminds me of Barbie and the crazy packaging she used to come in. The combination looks really young to me. But then again, I am young. 20, going on 21 years. However, should a 20 year old pre-law student be wearing hot pink leg warmers?! I don't plan on going out on the town in these, however. God, I'm getting old.

new yarn, new projects.

2006-02-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

I have decided to leave the Moss Stitch Jacket collar alone, so as promised, here is a picture:

As you can see, the collar pulls the bottom edge up substantially as I did not pick up the recommended 206 stitches. However, when the sweater is on, it looks good! I am going to buy a wide ribbon to tie the sweater at the waist. I didn't like it at first, but I like it more and more everyday.

It looks really fashionable when tied at the waist and paired with my favorite pair of black trousers and 4" pointy-toed stilettos. I'll have to model it sometime.

Anyways, I was in Princeton, NJ with my boyfreind this weekend (he lives there permanently, and I only on the weekends) and finally convinced him to take me into Pins And Needles, a fantastic yarn shop right in the middle of downtown Princeton. Of course, I did some damage. It wasn't hard however, since I am a poor university student. :)

I finally picked up some yarn for the Dot Pebbles dolls that I have been meaning to make for a family friend's two young daughters. I had a hard time finding fingering weight flesh colored yarn, but I found it...thank you Debbie Bliss. I am planning on making the dolls to look just like the two girls, Gabriella with brown hair, and Michaela with blonde hair. I do not know who is more excited to see the outcome - me or the girls. I knitted some baby sweaters for their baby brother Nicholas, and they asked me to knit them something. I showed them the dolls and they loved them. I can't wait to get started.

Forget caffeine!

2006-02-02T17:49:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the Debbie Bliss moss stitch jacket. I think I need to pull out the collar as I did not cast on as many stitches as called for because I initially thought I would prefer less, and that it would be messy to cast on as many as were called for. It's taken me a while to finish this sweater, and I am going to keep going until I am happy with it...I haven't decided if I will leave the sweater as is yet. I will post pics of it when the decision is final.

Well, classes have been going really well, but for some reason today and last tuesday I could not stay awake in my U.S. History 2 class. I love history incredibly (especially U.S. history) but I couldn't help it - I was so tired. I sit in the front of the class and did not want my professor to see me fall asleep so I went to desperate measures to stay awake:

BEHOLD! Sorry the quality is terrible - I have a shotty digital camera. I'm rather disapointed, in fact. I was quite proud because I able to take notes simultaneously. Here is the one that I sketched today:

That's supposed to be a sheep knitting on a big armchair - just in case you couldn't figure it out. Ha!

So, I'm supposed to be getting ready to go to law school in two years and be working in DC for the CIA, and here I am drawing crazy pictures while trying to keep myself awake in class. Model student, I know. I got yarn on the brain.

It's officially ugly

2006-01-24T19:55:00.000-05:00

I officially hate the felted bag I made. It's ...ugh. I just figured that the entire bag shrank to 2/3 it's original size rather then shrinking lengthwise 1/3 and barely at all widthwise. Good thing I didn't get expensive yarn.
I made some knitted wire cuffs for some of my friends, mother, and Mrs. Brown. I added swarovski crystals in all different color schemes to add some flair. I love them, and they were so easy to make. I'll post a picture when I can get one to come out right - my digital camera is terrible.
ta ta!

Trial and Error

2006-01-19T17:06:00.000-05:00

So, the other night I was kinda itching to get on the felting bandwagon and went out and got some nice, grey, cheap merino wool. I bought 4 skeins (220 yds each) and just got to knitting. I was too lazy to follow a pattern so I made one up as I went along.
To the left is the finished knitted bag. It is rather large, as you can see. I obviously doubled the yarn. The dark grey is two strands of the dark grey merino and the lighter a strand of the dark and the light grey. I knit this on size 15 Addi turbo circulars.
I wish I had not been so eager to finish this thing and went out and bought another skein of the lighter yarn to make the grey shades fade more. My rationalization: This is my first felting project and I'm just testing the entire procedure. Ha!
Here's the end result; Shaped and waiting to dry:
I pinched in the sides because they were entirely too long and doing so would also help the bag stand up on it's own. The bag is a lot shallower than I had hoped, but then again, I've never done this before and had no pattern to follow.
Once this thing is dry I'll post pictures.
In other news, my moss stitch jacket sleeves are driving me crazy. That thing is gonna be in hibernation for a little while.

Moss Stitch Jacket

2006-01-12T22:15:00.000-05:00

For the past 3 months I have been working on Debbie Bliss's Moss Stitch Jacket from the Cashmere Collection. If I wasn't constantly getting distracted by other yarns and patterns, it would have been completed by now, but, you all know how things go...
Working on the body pieces were total no-brainers since there weren't any increases or decreases, but the sleeves are a different story. The increasing noted in the book is completely wrong. If one were to knit the sleeves up the way that is noted in the book, one would end up with a 40' sleeve. ::sigh::
Of course, no corrections for this particular pattern is on her website and I cannot find anything else on the web. So, I'm just going to see what happens with the pattern I make up in my head.
I am knitting it in the same exact color - Old Rose. The yarn was, of course, a birthday gift from the lovely Mrs. Brown.
I just can't wait until I'm finished as the moss stitch gets annoying after a while. I just envision myself enticingly sprawled out on my overstuffed living room sofa in the sweater watching the Isaac show after a long day of Physics at school when my hands and brain cry 'no more!'.

Thanks, Shelly.

2006-01-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

Last week was Garrett's birthday, but you'd think it was mine. Shelly, Travis and I went to his house for dinner and I got as many presents as he did! Well, Mrs. Brown always has a cute little gift for me whenever I see her (usually yarn) but Shelly had one for me this time! Shelly just learned how to knit a little while ago, so she made me a felted flower and attached it to a cashmere hat. love. Those women are so thoughtful.
Shelly is so sweet. She is Garrett's best childhood friend, Travis's mother. Mrs. Brown and Shelly have been close friends since Garrett and Travis were in diapers.
I love this hat. The houndsooth really sets the whole thing off. Well done, Shelly.
Mrs. Brown gave me 300 yards of Mango Moon's recycled silk and I have no idea what to do with it. I'm not too fond of the free patterns on Mango Moon's website. I think I'm going to end up making a really simple wrap that I could end up wearing with either jeans or my nice black trousers.

once again.

2006-01-09T17:15:00.000-05:00

Hello.
I used to have a knitting blog a while back. I think. Kind of neglected it. And accidently deleted it.
So, once again, I am Caitlin and I am addicted to knitting.